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The Farm Bill is an important step in protecting New Jersey’s food system | Opinion

Kwame Williams, Special to North Jersey Record
Published 1:36 p.m. ET Dec. 24, 2018

Gurney Harris (R) of Paterson who works for CUMAC,hands out flyers to shoppers during a Food Drive at Stop & Shop in Wyckoff on 09/30/18.This is The RecordÕs 27th year supporting the Food Drive, which it founded based on reading one its own published articles about a local pantry with bare shelves. (Photo: Mitsu Yasukawa/Northjersey.com)

"Thankful." That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of the holiday season. Like most Americans, I look forward to spending time with dearest friends, precious family and loved ones young and old. And what better way to celebrate the season than with a dinner of delectable, nutritious foods that warm the heart and soul? But sadly, there are still millions of Americans who struggle to put food on the table, not just during the holidays but every single day. In New Jersey alone, more than 900,000 people struggle with hunger. That’s one out of 10 New Jerseyans. More than 268,000 of them are children.

Every day, people just like you and me must make tough choices just to keep their families functioning. No one should be forced to choose between putting wholesome, nutritious food on the table and paying the electric bill or keeping the heat on. Unfortunately, that is the grim reality thousands of our neighbors face right here in our very own communities.

My fellow chefs and the farmers we work with have dedicated our lives and careers to providing our customers with high quality ingredients and delicious meals. New Jersey is home to more than 9,000 farms covering about 715,000 acres of farmland. Many of the farmers and producers we work with in our restaurants are state and national agricultural leaders, supplying crops like blueberries, cranberries, peaches, strawberries, spinach and other grocery store items. At farmers markets statewide, these foods are available to everyone, including families who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Thousands of families in New Jersey receive SNAP benefits and about 45 percent of those recipients have children.

No matter how or where we buy our groceries, we all rely on good food and farm policies to ensure that our food is safe, our land and water are protected and that our local food economies continue to grow. The Farm Bill is meant to do just that; it supports our food system, anti-hunger programs like SNAP and the tens of thousands of farm families in our state.

Fortunately, after months of negotiations and tough compromises, Congress recently passed a bipartisan Farm Bill, which preserved overall funding for conservation programs and funding, benefits, and eligibility for anti-hunger programs. The bill provides permanent funding for healthy food incentives and local, organic, and beginning farmer programs for the first time. Thankfully, it also rejected anti-environmental riders and harmful barriers to anti-hunger programs proposed in earlier versions. However, no farm bill is perfect. Far more funding is needed to reward good stewardship on working lands and to provide a strong safety net for families struggling against hunger. The bill also expanded subsidy loopholes which will further tilt the playing field against the family farmers that our farm safety net should serve.

Gurney Harris (R) of Paterson who works for CUMAC, receives a bag of food from Emma Altimis (age 8) of Wyckoff during a Food Drive at Stop & Shop in Wyckoff on 09/30/18.This is The RecordÕs 27th year supporting the Food Drive, which it founded based on reading one its own published articles about a local pantry with bare shelves. (Photo: Mitsu Yasukawa/Northjersey.com)

As we celebrate the holiday season, let us be mindful that we have much to be thankful for. Nutritious foods are not guaranteed. And our world-class food system should not be taken for granted. It should be protected and improved to be enjoyed by all.

Jamaican-American Kwame Williams grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. In 2014, Williams and his two sisters launched Vital in Montclair, New Jersey, a Jamaican restaurant that boasts healthful, vibrant food.